New Tactics
by Marlex
Summary: Nita is heading to the visiting room at the local jail after something very bad happened in New York City while she was on vacation. (One-shot)


**Author's Note:** I wrote this story in 2008 and posted in on my LiveJournal. I fixed a few things and am now re-posting here as part of my effort to have a more complete collection of my stories. I hope you enjoy.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Nita didn't say anything as the guard waved the magnetic wand up and down her torso. The irony didn't escape her, but she wasn't in the mood for any more of life's ironies at the moment.

The guard nodded and Nita stepped forward to the cold steel door. She heard a metallic click and the door unlocked, swinging toward her. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to step through into the visiting room, which was dominated by a series of windows, each with a shelf and a chair. Small wooden dividers gave some semblance of privacy to the people sitting in the chairs.

A woman, most likely in her 30s, was sitting in the chair directly in front of Nita, talking on a black phone to a man in an orange jumpsuit sitting opposite her on the far side of the glass. Above her was a small plastic sign, labeling the window number nine.

The guard at the front desk—not the one with the wand—had told to go to number four. That was where he would be waiting. She wasn't sure she was ready to do this. She hadn't seen him since she left on vacation, almost two weeks before. That seemed an impossibly long time ago. He had ignored her attempts to contact him, even though she had been shouting to him in her mind ever since she returned to New York.

"_You shouldn't have come_," she heard in her head, making her jump.

"_I had to_."

Relishing in the momentary reconnection of their link, she was able to harden her resolve and force herself to take a step, and then another. Not looking at the windows or the people sitting before them, she counted down the small black and white labels until she saw number four.

Lowering her gaze, she saw him sitting in the metal chair. For a moment he looked 12 again, like when he had been when they first met under the trees behind their school. The next moment he looked much older, short stubble on his cheeks and chin shadowing his soft features as the dark circles under his dull eyes spoke to the torment of the past 24 hours.

"Kit," she whispered.

Not taking her eyes off him, she sat down in the chair and reached for the phone. He did not take up his.

"_It's not like we really need those_," his voice said in her mind. A sad smile broke on his face and for an instant he was back, her friend, her partner, her...what words could describe their relationship?

All too soon, however, the moment was gone and so was the smile. He grabbed the phone.

"You shouldn't have come," he said, this time out loud. Before she could respond, he continued. "But I'm glad you did."

"How could I stay away?" she said. "Tom and Carl told me what they could. What happened Kit?"

"_The Lone One won. Simple as that_."

"But…" she said before stopping herself. "_Who was it they say you killed_?"

"_I did kill him, Nita. The Powers help me, I killed him_."

The pain etched on Kit's face made her heart ache. She desperately wanted to touch him at that moment. The knowledge that she had the power to do so, but couldn't, made it all that much worse.

"_Tell me what happened_."

"_I had just finished helping Rhiow and her crew with a hiccup at Grand Central Station. It wasn't too difficult, that's why I didn't bother you. I decided to walk down to that place we found last summer and grab lunch before heading home. I was almost there when this guy jumped me and pulled me into an alley. At first I thought it was a mugging._

"_I put up my shield spell. I was actually thinking about how funny it would be if he did try anything when his spell sent me flying into the wall_."

"_Wait—his spell_?" Nita asked, almost forgetting to keep their conversation silent. She had never heard of a human wizard actively working for the Lone Power. Sure, He manipulated people into doing his deeds, but a willing agent with wizardry skills? This was something new. And very troubling.

"_Yeah_," he replied, sounding as resigned as he had when he had spoken aloud. "_Don't ask me to explain, because I don't know. Tom and Carl are still trying to figure it all out. At first I tried to keep things light, but after a few moments, I knew he was in it all the way. Pretty soon, I was using spells I hadn't used since the war_."

Kit paused and Nita watched him struggle to continue.

"_I don't know exactly what happened, one second we were fighting, and then one of my spells must have broken through his protections. He was dead._

"_There were witnesses. They saw what He wanted them to. Someone called the police_."

"_It wasn't your fault_," she said.

"_He may have been His agent, but I had no right to kill him_."

"_Kit, we've killed before_," she said, remembering the times when she had been forced to take lives while on errantry.

"_I know, but we've—you've—never killed another person before_."

"_I've killed people. I've killed to protect my family. I've killed to protect the whole damn galaxy. They just weren't human_."

"_It's not the same_."

"_Yes it is. Our duty is to protect the natural order of the universe. What the Lone One does is anything but natural. When we face Him, we do what we have to_."

"_But—_"

"_Kit, please listen to me. I know you. With everything we've been through, I may know you better than anybody. This was not your fault. We will figure this thing out. We're wizards after all_."

A tiny smile flickered across Kit's face.

"Just remember, you're not alone," she said aloud.

Their eyes met, saying much more than words ever could.

"I know."


End file.
